


Sleepwalking

by sonofthanatos



Category: South Park
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sleepwalking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 01:25:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19367377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofthanatos/pseuds/sonofthanatos
Summary: A sleepover at Token's takes an unexpected turn.





	Sleepwalking

"All right boys, we'll leave you to it. Keep it down, OK?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Black!" The boys chorused.   
  
"Sure Mom. We're going to order pizza soon, can you please let us know when it gets here?"  
  
"Of course." Mrs. Black kissed Token's forehead then disappeared, leaving the five of them in Token's bedroom.  
  
Sleeping bags were carefully laid out along the floor on inflated air mattresses. Overnight bags were lined up against the wall. Everything in the room was in its proper place and organized carefully. It was a total contrast to the utter disaster that was Clyde's bedroom.  
  
The five boys lounged around the room: Jimmy in the desk chair, his crutched propped against the wall; Clyde, sprawled out on the floor, snacking on chips; Craig, sitting on the floor against some pillows propped up on the wall, with Tweek sitting in front of him between his legs and leaning against him while Craig rested his head on Tweeks shoulder and wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist: Token, sitting on the bed watching them all fondly.  
  
"Whatever happened to that race car bed you used to have?" Clyde asked suddenly, looking at Token. "That thing was awesome, I was so jealous as a kid."  
  
Token laughed. "We sold that when I was 12 so I could have a real bed." He patted his king-sized mattress fondly. Clyde scrambled up, and flopped down on it. Tweek was tempted to grab the chips but he was comfortable where he was.  
  
"Fair enough. This is super comfortable!"  He rolled over and lay on his back, grinning up at Token as his brown hair fanned out.. "Want to be my boyfriend so we can share this thing?"  
  
"That's not how being gay works." Craig pointed out.  
  
"Come on Tweek, be boyfriends with us. Craig can be boring and sit by the wall." Clyde held out his hands in invitation and Tweek erupted in giggles. Craig didn't answer, but Tweek noticed with some amusement that his hands tightened slightly around him. The next thing he knew, Clyde suddenly slid off the bed and grabbed his ankles, trying to pull him close. Tweek laughed hysterically as Craig and Clyde played tug of war with him for a few minutes before Clyde let him stay where he was.   
  
As they bantered and chattered, Jimmy started telling a story about Nathan's latest fight with their camp at Lake Tardicaca; his parents had signed him up to be a counselor this time, much to his aggravation. "So his plan now is to have his campers get a 'fire starter' badge; I warned him how dangerous it would be but he says he's not worried. I'm getting mine to be a 'volunteer fire fighting squad' and helping make the camp safer, and I'll see about recruiting his campers to help out."  
  
Token shook his head. "Somebody needs to do something about that guy."  
  
"For sure. He could a...acc...a...accid...accidentally hurt somebody." Jimmy agreed. His stutter had gotten better over the years but it still popped up once in a while.  
  
"All right, well before Clyde starts advocating cannibalism again-"  
  
"I wasn't serious!"  
  
"-we should order dinner. What kind of pizza do we want?" Token looked around the room. "One four cheese, one meat lovers?"  
  
"Or one with pineapple?" Jimmy teased. Craig glared up at him, and Jimmy stuck out his tongue.  
  
  
  
Several hours of pizza and games later, the boys couldn't keep their eyes open. Yawning, they pulled their clothes off; Clyde just stripped to his underwear while the other boys put on pajamas. They climbed into bed and fell asleep almost immediately.  
  
  
  
Tweek woke up without any idea of what time it was. A shadowy figure was clumsily walking around the room; it knocked a book off Token's desk. His first thought that it was a burglar looking for something valuable, but then an even more terrible thought occurred to him: what if it was a kidnapper? Somebody desperate, hoping to hold Token for ransom or worse?  
  
Carefully Tweek slipped out of his sleeping bag. Craig was breathing quietly next to him, but Tweek didn't want to wake him and risk alerting the kidnapper. He reached out quietly, his hands searching for Token's baseball bat. Gripping it tightly in his hands, he reached his decision. Stepping over Jimmy carefully, he reached for the light switch...and flipped it on.  
  
Muffled protests filled the room as light erupted from the ceiling. Jimmy and Craig moaned in unison as they rubbed their eyes, trying to sit up. Token crawled out of his sheets. They all looked up and stared.  
  
Clyde stood at Token's desk. He seemed to be flipping through the books without reading them and dropping them one by one on the floor. His eyes were open but they were glassy and unfocused. After a moment, he turned and walked to the closet, opening the door and peering inside.  
  
"Oh damn," Token murmured. "I thought he was over this."  
  
"He was. I haven't seen him do this in years." Craig answered quietly. He leaned towards Tweek. "When we were kids Clyde used to sleepwalk, especially after his mom died. I haven't seen him do it in a long time though."  
  
"I think it's stress." Token's voice was soft as they watched him. "He's trying out for the basketball team, he's worried about his grades, his dad got sick so he's been running their house for a week, he's fighting with Bebe again, plus the anniversary of his mom's death is coming up..."  
  
Craig quietly stood up and helped Jimmy get his crutches on. Clyde turned and walked unsteadily towards the door. The boys followed him uncertainly as he walked down the hall. Tweek looked at the others anxiously. "We're not supposed to wake him up, right?"  
  
"Right. If you wake up sleepwalkers they panic and they might hurt you." Token explained as they followed Clyde into the kitchen.  
  
Jimmy giggled. "Trust Clyde to go for food even when he's asleep."  
  
As Clyde reached for the fridge door, Token and Craig gently touched his back. With great care they slowly guided him away and into the living room; they tried to turn him towards the bedroom again but for some reason Clyde didn't seem to want to go back to bed. Gently but firmly they led him instead to the couch and quietly sat him down; almost by instinct he curled up on the couch.  
  
Token disappeared for a minute, then returned holding a whistle. Tweek looked at him in surprise.   
  
"We have to wake him up. Luckily my parents room is far enough away that this won't disturb them." They backed up to the other side of the room, and Token blew hard into the whistle. A loud, sharp, piercing sound erupted and Clyde fell off the couch, arms flailing wildly and his feet kicking. After a moment, he pulled himself up and stared around himself in total confusion, his eyes wide.  
  
Craig hesitantly stepped forward and touched his arm. "Clyde, it's OK. You were sleepwalking again."  
  
Clyde blinked up at him, looking around curiously. "I was?"  
  
"Everything OK, dude?" Craig's voice was soft as he sat down next to Clyde. The other boys all sat around them.  
  
Clyde hesitated. "It's been a rough few weeks. I...I didn't know that I was..." His eyes closed, but they all saw the tears in them. None of them chose to mention it. "I've had to take charge of everything around the house, help at the store, deal with school, and...I just keep thinking of my mom. You know, she never had trouble dealing with everything. She always had everything totally under control. I don't know how she did it." Craig vividly remembered her screaming at them over nonsense more than once but didn't mention it. "This whole time I just keep thinking of what she would do, and how she would have taken care of this so easily." Tears really started to fall now. "It's been so many years since...I just..." His voice cracked. "I miss her so much."  
  
Craig put his arm around Clyde gently. The others moved in, trapping Clyde in a big group hug as he cried. "I'm sorry!" He wailed. "I'm Ok, I swear. It just hit me really hard right now for some reason."  
  
"Don't be sorry," Token said softly. "We're your friends, we're here for you. We can miss her together."


End file.
